


Hypothermia

by UnluckyIrishBreifcase



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Emil became the fave so he's not gonna have a good time, First SSSS work ftw!, Gen, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some body horror?, Sorry Emil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckyIrishBreifcase/pseuds/UnluckyIrishBreifcase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Emil is separated from the rest of the squad in a troll encounter gone horribly awry, he must make it through three days and three nights with one goal: Don’t Die. However, with plummeting winter temperatures, potential beasts and trolls round every corner, and a shadowy threat following his every step, this seemingly simple goal has gotten much more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hypothermia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hypothermia  
> hy·po·ther·mi·a  
> noun

Have you ever screwed up So Badly that, when you finally stop, take a minute, and Look at the very moment you screwed up, you could say for absolute certain it was the exact moment that your entire life as you knew it went to complete, total, and utter catastrophe?  
That is just how badly Emil had Screwed Up.  
And to think that the whole mess had started with such a seemingly, deceptively, simple plan: a recovery mission. Get in. Get books. Get out. Easy, right? That’s exactly what Emil thought. And the entire debacle had quite nearly cost him his Life. 

The target had been a relatively low priority one, but it was close by and Sigrun, in her infinite wisdom, had declared it a relatively safe location with several easy exits in case something went awry. Emil, however, didn’t think the building was very impressive. It was some sort of office building, possibly connected with the government. It was a squat, solid structure made with a whole bunch of brick and other non flammable building materials. If push came to burn, they would be in a lot of trouble. And as a cleanser, Emil did Not like something he couldn’t bring down easily.  
Emil frowned at the crumbling facade as he, along Sigrun, the de-facto leader of the expedition, and night scout, Lalli, got ready to head on inside. Mikkel, a Danish bear of a man, had been assigned watch duty to make sure that nothing went in after him, unlikely as that might be in the very cold broad daylight. Also, his bulk might cause some trouble with navigating the rotting interior, as Sigrun pointed out not so subtly. Mikkel rolled his eyes at the jab, but otherwise remained as stoic as ever.  
At least it was good weather to explore without being molested by trolls. The day was clear as pure glass, and frigid as solid ice. Snow covered everything, but it wasn’t the soft fresh powder of a recent fall. The surface had a hard crust that glittered like diamonds in the winter sun, and crunched under foot. Every breath hung in the air as a swirling cloud. Emil could have swore his hair was developing a layer of frost as he stood there, hands smushed under his armpits, waiting for the order to go in.  
Emil staunchly ignored the two senior teammate’s teasing, and strode up to one of the long empty window frames. He squinted, trying to peer into darkness inside. The interior was worn and crumbling, with the skeletons of ancient furniture and decor mixed in with shapeless debris and the withered remains of plant life that had grown up and been killed off by the winter chill. Emil scrunched his nose at the smell of decay that wafted from further in.  
The faintest shift of snow sounded beside him, and Emil looked over at Lalli, who had come up to look inside with him.  
“Looks promising?” Emil asked, flatly. Lalli gave him a look, but otherwise made no reply. It wasn’t like he could, since he didn’t understand a lick of Swedish. Emil exhaled with a puff of mist, and turned back to the window.  
The depths of the building seemed so black it swallowed the light. Which didn’t do anything to improve his opinion of the place. Lalli kept watching, too, and Emil glanced over to see if he could figure out what the mage was thinking. There wasn’t much to see; Lalli was as emotive as a puddle of water. His pale blue eyes were narrowed slightly, and as Emil watched, Lalli made a small sound in his throat that might have meant anything from Interest, to Malcontentment, to just plain Boredom. Emil wasn’t sure, since he wasn’t all that well versed in Lalli speak.  
“You two done window peeping yet!” A loud, sharp voice called out. Emil turned to see Sigrun standing by the doorway, Mikkel a little to her side, with her rifle shouldered, a hand on her hip, and a lopsided grin on her face. Emil straightened up. It looked like it was time to finally do something other than stand around in the cold.  
Emil patted Lalli on the shoulder to get his attention. Lalli still lingered at the window for a moment, before tearing his gaze away and giving Emil another look. Emil motioned to Sigrun, and Lalli seemed to get the meaning.  
The two shuffled through the snow, and joined the red headed captain at the main entry way. Sigrun gave them both a winning smile.  
“Let’s get in there, get those books, and get out of this cold!” Sigrun announced, scrunching up her shoulders for emphasis. The temperature had dropped suddenly that night, and the day hadn’t changed that much. The frigid cold stung Emil’s face and had numbed his fingers when he hadn’t gotten his gloves on yet, but it kept the trolls at bay, so he kept his grumbling to a minimum.  
Sigrun turned on her heel and headed for the great double doors that had somehow stayed in place after almost a century. Emil headed up after her, with Lalli at his heels. The entrance stood at the top of some wide stone steps that were slick from frozen snow. Sigrun was already pushing her shoulder against one of the doors, trying to force the old hinges open. Emil joined her, and after some scrambling for purchase the two managed to get the hunk of wood to open just wide enough for a person to slide through.  
With a flashlight beam lighting the way, Sigrun squeezed through the gap. Emil followed with only minor difficulty, and stood in the entryway for a moment to let his eyes adjust. He blinked a couple times when Sigrun swung the light around and caught him in the face. When he finally was able to see, he took stock of the space.  
The foyer was unusually large and spacious for one of these abandoned buildings. The ceiling rose almost a full 2 stories above their heads. A stone floor was covered in bits of plaster from the walls and trim, as well as the remains of old furniture that had lined the sides of the room. Some paintings still hung in their frames on the wall, but the elements had long since destroyed whatever scenes had been depicted. Even under all the decay, however, the space was still grand. Whatever trim work left was detailed and ornate, with some of it still carrying the faintest glint of gilt after all this time. Emil had to be impressed with the faded grandeur, even if the musty moldy stink was worse in here.  
“Impressive, ain’t it?” Sigrun called from up ahead. Emil nodded, still examining everything. “Fancy building should mean something’s still left!”  
“What do you think it was?” Emil asked as he examined an old sofa that had started growing a gangly sapling some years ago.  
“Who cares, all I know is it should have some books somewhere in here,” Sigrun replied as she nudged at an ancient table. It crumbled like wet cardboard, and she sniffed in disapproval. “But it’s not gonna be anywhere around here; let’s get moving.”  
Emil nodded, then turned in a circle, taking the whole sight in. About halfway through,however, he stopped suddenly. Emil paused, and frowned slightly. Sigrun kept on with her investigation with the flashlight, oblivious to any problem.  
Emil turned back to the door. He gave it another pull, opening it enough for him to pop his head out. He squinted against the glare of the snow, blinded for a moment by the daylight. After a moment, he frowned again.  
Lalli had stayed behind, standing in the snow. He was watching the door, and didn’t acknowledge Emil.  
“Hey,” Emil called. Lalli dropped his gaze to him. “Come on,” Emil urged, adding a few hand gestures to get his point across. Lalli squinted ever so slightly, but made no move to go inside. Emil dropped his arm and gave Lalli an exasperated look.  
He ducked outside, and took a hold of Lalli’s arm.  
“Come On,” Emil repeated, leading Lalli inside. The mage seemed reluctant, which made Emil’s frown deepen. Lalli always acted oddly, but he couldn’t tell if this was just Lalli being Lalli, or something more serious. And he couldn’t ask Tuuri to explain for him. Lalli’s cousin was back in the tank keeping company with Reynir, their resident Icelandic stowaway, and translating and transcribing what books they already had.  
Lalli didn’t protest too hard to being pulled inside, but he didn’t exactly perk up outside of the cold either. Emil had to pause to re-adjust to the darkness again, before setting off after the bouncing beam of Sigrun’s flashlight. Their captain had headed deeper into the building, looking for any stashes of books that had been sheltered from the years. Emil and Lalli followed after her, picking through empty corridors filled with more dirt, debris, and even a few partially collapsed areas.  
As they made their way deeper into ancient building, Emil was filled with an eerie sense of deja vu. This place was all too similar to the building they had found a troll nest in weeks ago. It wasn’t there anymore- Emil had brought it to the ground, with Lalli almost inside since they had gotten separated. Without thinking, Emil tightened his grip on Lalli’s arm, which got the swede an irritated glare.  
“I think it goes without saying, but no splitting up this time!” Sigrun called out from up ahead, as if sensing Emil’s thoughts. “After what happened last time, being glued together isn’t a bad idea.” Emil gave her back a level stare, since it had been Her idea to do so in the first place back then. Sigrun didn’t notice, instead focusing on something that had made her stop in her tracks.  
Emil and Lalli drew up short, and had to peer around her to see what the problem was.  
A good chunk of the roof had caved in, filling the hallway with rotten beams and old furniture from the floor above. It went on for a good 20 feet, perhaps even further since none of them could see any farther through the mess. Sigrun had her hands on her hips as she surveyed the impasse. The redhead sucked her teeth as she made a sour face.  
“I don’t think any of us could get through that mess. Not even our scout,” she remarked.  
“So how are we going to get to the books?” Emil replied. Sigrun frowned, and leaned in to glance at the floor above them.  
“Well, any books Should be up there,” Sigrun explained. “Something about workspaces being on upper floors and that nonsense. So... we need a way up,” She straightened up, suddenly much more enthusiastic, and swung the flashlight beam back the way they came. “So that means: Backtrack!”  
Without further ado, Sigrun pushed past Emil and Lalli, and lead the way back towards the other side of the building. Emil stared after the captain, a bit caught off guard by the sudden shift. He soon hurried to follow her.  
A few paces down, he stopped. Emil turned his head and stared behind him. He had let go of Lalli’s arm, and now Lalli was rooted to the floor near the cave in. Emil cocked an eyebrow. Lalli being alert was rarely a good thing. He backed up a little ways to stand next to the Finn.  
Lalli was staring into the upper floor, like he was waiting for something to appear. Emil tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. When Lalli didn’t respond, Emil shook him a little.  
Blue eyes snapped up to stare at him. Emil pointed up into the hallways above and tipped his head to the side in an obvious question. Lalli’s gaze followed his finger, and lingered for a moment on some spot in the distance.  
Then Lalli turned away, and started walking after Sigrun.  
Emil blinked. That was odd, to say the least. But if Lalli wasn’t on high alert, that should mean it was nothing.  
At least, that’s what Emil hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature, typically one that is dangerously low."
> 
> Wooooooooo my first work in SSSS!!!  
> I got most of this bad boy planned out and most of this first chapter written while waiting for the new page so it looks like I got a new way to vent my pre-update nerves.  
> Intended this to be only half of the first chapter, but I decided to start it slow and keep the chapter to a more reasonable 3.5 google docs pages. So this should be about 7+ chapters in the end, with updates whenever I finish them.  
> Now, to get used to AO3s setup since I'm a convert from ff.net...


	2. Horripilation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horripilation  
> hor·rip·i·la·tion  
> noun

Freaky old buildings were not Emil’s idea of a great place to spend the day. 

The hallway hadn’t been the only part of the building that was completely collapsed in on itself. Sigrun, Emil, and Lalli had backtracked, backtracked their backtracking, and then backtracked that again. Sigrun had even tried to climb up through one collapsed section to get into the upper floors, but that idea was scrapped along with the timbers she had tried to use. 

After hours of scouring every inch of the building they could reach searching for a stairwell, the three were back in the foyer area without anything to show for their work. Lalli was staring at something in the middle distance above his head, while Sigrun paced around with Emil, propped up against a wall watching, her. She was muttering something to herself in Norwegian that probably included a healthy dose of swear words. 

After a solid minute of this, Sigrun finally spoke up to address her two comrades.

“There has to be a way up,” she announced. “There Has to be. We just haven’t found it. Somewhere that we haven’t thought to look.”

“What if there isn’t” Emil countered. He was getting tired of picking through moldy old ruin without any good reason. “Maybe we should just head to the next target…”

“We need to look some more first,” Sigrun said, simply. Emil looked around at the foyer, wondering where they could look that haven’t already. Most of the doorways off here only lead to little rooms filled with rotten trash. He shrugged, not bothering to reply. Sigrun pursed her lips, clearly trying to think of anything she might have missed.

Emil pushed himself away from the wall. If he was stuck in here, he might as well do Something. 

He started at the far end of the foyer, and looked into each and every door along the wall. It was, like he had previously seen, mostly just little cluttered rooms. One after the other all the way down the room. When he reached the end, he cut across to the far end of the other side, and worked his way down again. 

For the most part, Sigrun ignored Emil. She was too deep in her own thoughts to pay much attention to whatever the cleanser was doing. Lalli, however, had stopped staring at the ceiling and was now directing all his attention at Emil. Emil had to shake off the eerie feeling of Lalli’s eyes boring into his back as he walked along.

A few doors down, Emil hit paydirt.

The door was just like all the others, but instead of a little room, a small, out of the way hallway stretched into the darkness. 

“Hey!” he called out. Sigrun snapped her head up. Emil waved her over, and the captain hurried up next to him. 

Sigrun crouched down and squinted into the murkiness beyond.

“Good job!” She declared, clapping Emil hard on the back. He stumbled a little under the force of the blow. Sigrun’s excitement was back in full force. “And you were starting to doubt me!” 

Sigrun braced her shoulder against the moldy wood. Then she pushed until the whole thing came down into the hallway. It hit the floor with the empty whump of rotten boards and broke apart into a couple different pieces. They were unceremoniously kicked aside as Sigrun entered with her flashlight leading the way. Emil made to follow her, but stopped when he remembered something.

He hurried over to Lalli -who hadn’t left his spot in the middle of the foyer- grabbed his arm, and headed into the hallway. Lalli narrowed his eyes, but otherwise didn’t complain as he was lead along into the dust filled and grime filled corridor.

Lo and behold, there were stairs at the end. Sigrun took the lead again, though now it was less out of enthusiasm and more to scope out any pitfalls and make sure the upper floor wasn’t a deathtrap. Only when she had cleared it did she wave Emil and Lalli up to join her.

She stood at the top, waiting for the two to get over and around the mess of holes and beams that filled the stairwell. 

“It’s better up here away from where all the water can get in downstairs, but we’ll still need to get further in to find anything that isn’t plant food,” Sigrun said. She hefted her flashlight, pointing it down a hallway that ran off to their left. “I’ll take rooms on the left; Emil, you and Lalli take the right.” 

“I thought you said not to split up!” Emil said, a little taken aback.

“We’re not splitting up. We’re Dividing and Conquering,” Sigrun explained. Emil thought that just sounded like a different way to say Split Up, but he didn’t say anything. Sigrun was already walking away, anyway. With a small sigh, Emil turned and headed in the opposite direction. He had let go of Lalli’s arm, and once again the Finn was about as mobile as a tree. Emil frowned at him, wondering why Lalli was so unwilling to go further in. It wasn’t clear if the night scout was worried about something, or just tired and not wanting to be there. Either one was just as likely. 

“Lalli,” Emil called. Lalli looked at him, and Emil waved his hands in a “follow me” gesture. Lalli looked at him for a second, then glanced at the hallway beyond.

After a moment, Lalli nodded and followed after Emil. Emil blinked, a little surprised that Lalli wasn’t going to just stand there and stare impassively. He so caught off guard that Lalli actually ended up walking a little ways past him. Lalli stopped a few paces down the hall and turned his head to give Emil a look. 

More than a little embarrassed, Emil brushed past Lalli and lead the way down the hallway.

 

At the first turn, Emil headed deeper into the building. Quite belatedly, he realized, he should have brought the other flashlight instead of letting Sigrun be the main light source. He squinted into the inky darkness of the interior, relying on only his own sight and the occasional bits of light from small holes in the ceiling and walls to make his way along. Together, he and Lalli inspected every room they came across, searching for any books that might have been more or less spared from the ravages of time. 

They weren’t very successful, since they ended up finding more of the upper sides of those collapses that had vexed them on the ground floor than they did books. And whatever they did find were no better than powder once opened up. 

After about the 6th book that had crumbled in his hands, and the 10th drop that Lalli had narrowly pulled him away from in time, Emil was feeling even more disheartened than when they were stuck in the foyer. 

He shook his hands a little, getting most of the remnants of what had once been a book off his gloves before wiping them on the front of his coat. He eyed the rest of the books on the shelf before deciding that they were probably not in much better shape than the one he’d just tried. 

With a sigh, Emil dropped the empty cover onto what was once a desk. He squared, and headed back into the hallway. It was one of only many in what had become a maze of a floor. There had even been a couple times when he had almost bumped into Sigrun in the little labyrinth. And she had about the same amount of luck. Their only hope now was the heart of the building. Which they weren’t able to get to because of all the collapsed flooring. 

“Now what?” he asked, of no one in particular. Lalli looked up at the words, but he made no response outside of a blank stare. 

Emil ran a hand through his hair, straightening it and smoothing it as he was prone to do almost excessively. They could either leave, call the whole thing a bust. Or… or…  
He got an idea.

It was crazy, but it was their last chance to get anything worthwhile out of this place. Emil turned, and hurried down the hallway they were in. He turned around corners, twisting and weaving through the corridors. He got a little lost a couple times between all the turns and the pitfalls, but eventually he got to where he was thinking of.

One of the collapses was smaller than the others, at only about 6 feet across. The floorboards had rotted, and fell away like soaked cardboard, leaving a relatively even hole in the hallway. They had walked beneath it while searching the ground floor, and Emil had passed by it a couple times while looking for books. It had never occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, and with a good running start, the gap just might be jumpable. 

Emil stared at the hole, judging the distance. He was still debating on whether the leap was doable when Lalli caught up to him. The Finn gave Emil another look, though this one was unmistakably irked. Emil ignored him. Instead, he inched up to the edge of the gap to test the wood. Some of it crumbled away when he prodded it. Emil frowned, and kicked at it some more, trying to get the weakest of the edge off. 

When he was satisfied the worst of the rot was gone, Emil stated backing up. Lalli watched him go, expression changing from ticked off to confused as to just what the crazy Swede was doing This time. 

A few yards back, Emil stopped and took a deep, steeling breath. He gave the gap one last, calculating look before dropping into a runner's crouch. Lalli cocked an eyebrow, but Emil just motioned for him to stand aside. 

Emil took off in a dead sprint towards the gap. The floor shook and creaked beneath him with every step, but managed to hold out. The edge seemed to rush towards him, and Emil had to swallow a thrill of fear at the thought that he’d been wrong and it was too far to make it. That he would just crash into the floor below. 

However, he didn’t even get to the hole.

Something latched onto Emil’s back without any warning. The grip was strong enough to wrench Emil off balance, and he had to scramble to avoid falling right onto his backside. Whatever was behind him managed to support his weight. Though there was a slight grunt of effort when Emil still lost his footing.

Emil craned his head around to see Lalli, wide-eyed, with a death grip on his shoulders. There was an awkward pause as Emil figured out exactly what had happened. 

“... Lalli?” Emil asked, more than a little taken aback, “What are you Doing?”

Lalli didn’t respond. He just kept staring at Emil, eyes large like he was… 

Afraid?

Emil quickly scanned the immediate area, looking for some sign that a troll was sneaking up on them. There wasn’t a hint of slime or any noises that might suggest a creature crawling its way towards them. Emil frowned at the lack of threat. He had no idea what could have gotten Lalli so worked up as to almost tackle him mid-run.

Something clicked, and Emil stared at the gap. 

Lalli must have thought he couldn’t make the jump. 

“Lalli, it’s okay I can do it,” Emil said as he tried to wiggle out of the Finn’s grasp. Lalli frowned, and held on tight. “It’s okay; it’s O. K.” Emil repeated, trying to get Lalli to let him go. Lalli’s frown deepened, but after some more struggling he finally let Emil go. Emil stumbled forward a bit before he manage to straighten himself up. 

He turned ands gave Lalli a reassuring smile. He pointed at the hole in the floor. 

“O. K.” Emil said, trying to get his point across. Lalli looked from the hole, to Emil, and shook his head. Emil slumped. With a sigh, he grabbed Lalli by the shoulders and guided him over to the side of the hallway. Then he made a “stay put” gesture. “O. K.” he repeated again. Lalli stared at him, blue eyes unreadable but still piercing. Emil sighed again, hoping at least Some of his message was getting across. 

Yet again, Emil backed down the hallway. He got to about where he had started before Lalli had interrupted him before dropping back into a runner’s crouch. He looked at the gap, hoping Lalli was just being unjustly paranoid. What was the worst that could happen if he missed? It wasn’t like the drop was That far… 

Emil took off at a dead sprint again. The floor shook and the hallway stretched even as each pounding footfall brought Emil closer and closer to the edge. He passed by Lalli, who pressed himself into the wall instead of trying to stop him this time. Emil wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

5 paces to the hole. 4 paces. 3. Only 2 more paces.

Emil hit the ground with both feet, pushed off into space, and leapt for all he was worth. 

 

The boards beneath his feet groaned ominously when he landed. Emil scrambled forward before they could give way altogether. After a moment to catch his breath, Emil turned around to see Lalli watching him from the other side. His face was unreadable, but Emil could have swore he looked just the slightest bit paler than usual. Emil grinned.

“O. K.!” He repeated. Lalli blinked, but didn’t respond. Emil didn’t really care that he didn’t. He was too excited that he had managed to clear the whole thing. It had to be a personal record for him. Not that he ever doubted he could do it, of course. 

He waited a moment to see if Lalli would follow his lead. The agile night scout could easily make the jump, but Lalli just stayed on the other side. Still staring. 

Emil felt a bit of unease creep up from the pit of his stomach, but he squashed it down.

Accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to have company on his way into the building, Emil turned, and headed down the other side of the hallway. The sights there weren’t much different than the other parts of the building they had already explored. There was a little less water damage, which boded well for any books that might have been there. 

Emil poked his head into a doorway he found, but it was filled with old beams from yet another collapse above it. It seemed the whole building was barely standing in places.

So much for safer conditions for books.  
The center of the upper floor had a few more rooms, some of which had a small bookshelf or two filled with ancient tomes inside. Emil smiled at that, and made a mental note to show Sigrun the small hole so she could help him search for anything worth scavenging. By the time he reached what was about the center of the building, Emil’s spirits had lightened significantly. Maybe this trip wasn’t such a waste of time after all.

Something made him stop in mid step. 

Emil was in a hallway, about to check another door a little ways down. It was dark in there, since he didn't have a flashlight like Sigrun. The deep shadows made every bit of decay and broken wood look eerie and unnatural, which hadn’t bothered Emil much. What did, however, was the noises coming from a little distance away.

-creeeaaak. squeak creeak. creeaak. creeeeeaaaaaaak- 

It was the same sound Emil had been making as he walked over the old floor. As he stood there, listening, he could almost make out the individual steps. He raised his eyebrows, wondering if Lalli had finally followed him over. 

As he listened longer, Emil could also begin to make out some other sounds mixed in with the creaks of the footfalls.

-scritch screetch screetch scritch- 

That made him pause . Why would Lalli be scratching something? Emil turned, and headed back down the hallway to see if he could find the source of the noise. 

As he approached a corner where another hallway intersected this one in a four way cross, the creaking stopped. 

Emil stopped as well. He strained his ears, trying to hear anything that could tell him where they had been coming from.

More scratching. 

-skreetch skreetch skirtch skreetch-

Emil snapped his head up.  
The noise was coming from above his head, on the next floor up. Emil frowned, wondering if he was just hearing some animal rustling around. 

He stared at the ceiling so long his neck started to hurt as he tracked the noise. It was moving back the way he just came, scritching and scratching the whole while. Once it had gone a good ways, Emil decided that now was probably a good time to go back and get Sigrun. 

He hurried through the hallways, back to where he thought the jumpable gap had been. As he walked, the sound of his own footsteps filled the air, drowning out any creaking noises that might have been following him. Which there weren’t, he had to assure himself. He was just being paranoid. 

After the second point where Emil realized he had gotten turned around, he was officially ready to get going, books or no. The darkness was starting to get to him. Not to mention he kept imagining more creaking and scratching sounds just above and behind him. 

He stopped to stare at the dead end he’d found, trying to puzzle out just Where the smallish gap was. He turned, backtracking some more

He heard something again. 

It was the scratching noises, -skritch skritch skritch-, this time from a hallway off to his left. Emil was standing in a small four way intersection, with one side blocked off by the dead end he had just come from. The noises were from a hallway he had just gone through not a minute earlier, and was much, much clearer than when it had been above his head. 

He could also make out the faintest sound of labored breathing. 

Emil stiffened, feeling the icy chill of fear shoot down his spine. He felt goosebumps rising on his arms as he listened to the wet, gurgling rasps. 

As he stood, he could begin to make out something else.

“.............................”

“....eg………...r……..ten”

“.......je….er……su….ten….”

Someone was whispering just barely loud enough for Emil to hear. He froze, trying to make out the garbled speech. 

The scratching noises got closer and closer. Emil was rooted to the spot, like a rabbit in the eyes of a predator. Even so, he listened for the whispering, hoping against hope that this was someone's, maybe Sigrun’s, idea of a sick joke. Trolls didn’t talk. 

Right?

The breathing and whispering stopped. The building was dead silent except for the blood rushing in Emil’s ears. After a moment, he almost felt like turning around, just to make sure he was safe before making a break for it. 

Something creaked only a few feet behind him. Emil felt his heart stop as a moist, rattling breath was taken right behind his head.

 

“jEg eR sULtEn”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The raising of hair on the skin due to cold, or the feeling of extreme emotions, such as fear." 
> 
> New chapter! right as I get 100 hits, too!!  
> Jeg Er Sulten is supposed to mean "I'm Hungry" for those of you who don't understand it. S/o to my icelandic homie giving me some danish help, even though i might have still mucked it up because skype is acting up and I can't go back and check the exact phrase :T  
> Emil, when the mage tells you not to jump over a thing, don't assume its because the mage don't think you can make it.,  
> There just might be something on the other Side of that jump.  
> also, still figuring out how to make things look nice on ao3 :'Y


	3. Wendigo Psychosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wendigo Psychosis"  
> medical term

There was something deeply, intrinsically horrifying about a thing that looked human,and that you could still recognize as having at least at some point once been human, but was now an utter monster.

Emil had turned around. The sudden voice had shocked him out of his terrified freeze, and he whirled about to see what an earth had made it. Once he did, he really, really wished he hadn’t.

It was at least 8 feet tall, maybe taller since it was hunched over in the confines of the hallway. It’s form was gaunt and skeletal with too long limbs and bones jutting out beneath whatever excuse for skin it had left. The flesh still clinging to it was warped and mutated into sickly masses of tissue that made it look all the more like an overgrown rotten corpse. A wet, raspy sound accompanied the rise and fall of its gnarled back as it breathed. 

The worst of it, at least to Emil,. was that the thing was still recognizably humanoid. Unlike many trolls, it still stood on two knobbed legs that connected to an emaciated torso. It had two long, dangling arms that ended in gnarled, spider like claws. It even had a recognizable head, with empty eye sockets that stared into Emil, and a gaping maw filled with dozens of dagger like teeth that were soaked in its own black blood after lacerating the flesh around them. What looked like a few smaller shriveled limbs hung off it’s body, as if it had absorbed some less fortunate monsters. 

The hulking troll leaned forward a bit, and Emil could smell the sickly sweet stench of diseased flesh coming off it. Pools of gore dripped from it onto the floor with each movement it made. Emil felt the bile rising in his throat as warm, rotten breath hit his face. 

“suLtEn” it rasped. It’s twisted voice echoed in the empty hallway. “sÅ… suLteN…” 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually Three reactions to fear. Fight, Flight, and Freeze. Emil was lost in the icy grip of the last one, but he soon found another instinct Finally kicking in.

 

Ignoring the cardinal rule of what to do when faced with a troll, Emil ran for it. 

He wasn’t running anywhere in particular, especially since he had thoroughly forgotten Where the gap he had been looking for was. He just needed to get out of that building. He needed to get into the open and the cold, where he would have Much better odds against such a large troll. 

The troll let out an enraged screech. It took off in hot pursuit, crashing and thrashing its way through the hallway. The sound made Emil’s heart leap and he put on an extra burst of speed. 

He wound his way through the decrepit maze. He turned at every corner in hopes of putting some sort of distance between him and the the thing behind him. It didn’t seem to be working. Even though the thunder of his own heart hammering in his ears Emil could hear the crashes and shrieks of the monster. He wanted to turn his head to check whether it was as close as it felt, but he knew his only chance was to keep running. Emil squeezed his eyes shut and hoped to something- anything- that he would make it out of there alive. 

 

The floor beneath him vanished. 

 

Emil snapped his eyes open only to see the world spinning as he pitched into empty space. Everything seemed to stop for half a second. Time itself slowed until Emil felt like he was hanging in the air, staring down at the massive collapse he had run straight into. 

 

Ancient wood crunched and beams snapped as Emil hit the ground. The sudden impact knocked his breath out and left him stunned. The whole world seemed to stand still as Emil’s fear-addled brain tried to catch up. He laid there, perfectly still in the rubble, for what seemed like a small eternity. Strangely enough, it looked like the same cave in that he, Lalli, and Sigrun had found earlier in the day 

Some bits of debris fell on top of him, catching his attention. 

Emil blinked, trying to regain at least some of his senses. Slowly, he propped himself up on his arms. Moving as gingerly as he could, Emil craned his head around the look above him. 

The troll stared down at him. It’s breathing was ragged, and as Emil watched, great glob of rancid meat fell onto his back. 

Dimly, Emil realized he should do something. Time was still moving in slow motion, and his movements felt sluggish as he reached for his bandolier. A dozen little explosive charges were hanging there, and Emil vaguely recalled that pulling one out would immediately prime it. 

With an immense effort, Emil pushed himself away from the mess he had landed in. He wobbled, then stumbled and tripped over some of the beams behind him. He landed, splayed on his back in the ground floor hallway. 

The troll hissed and gurgled. There was a loud crash as it jumped into the collapse after him. Emil inched his way to his feet. He watched dumbly as the troll turned to face him. Timbers cracked like twigs beneath its skeletal hands as it moved, and its mouth lolled open. 

“SuLtEN,” it repeated. 

Emil pulled as many charges as he could manage. They all came to life, spitting fire like angry tongues of flame. Despite his daze, Emil still managed to chuck the little explosives at the troll. Before they went off, he turned away to try and shield himself from the impending blast.

It was still big enough to knock him off his feet again. Emil managed to catch himself enough to not kiss the old floorboards, but the Bang did not help his disoriented state.

After a second, Emil dragged himself up again. He looked over at the troll. It wasn’t clear through the smoke if it was down for the count or not. He didn’t really want stick around to find out.

Emil started to hobble forward. There was a turn up ahead, and he took it. He didn’t really care where it lead him. He would get out of there if it meant blowing up the whole building. 

 

Something crashed in the hallway behind him. Emil stopped, and listened.

Another unholy shriek.

The troll was Not down.

Emil swore violently in swedish. There was another crash, closer this time. Then some skittering from the hallway directly behind him. Emil started running as he tore out another charge and chucked it behind his head. 

BOOM. Another screech. But the troll didn’t stop for long. Emil let loose another charge, then another. And another

Emil had emptied his bandolier into the abomination by the time he found his escape route. He had reached the back of the building, where windows looked out into a small, long dead garden. The cold air coming in from the empty window was a welcome shock, and he took a moment to just breathe it in and clear his head. 

The troll didn’t give him long, however. Somehow, it was still coming after him. It was like the charges had only served to make it Angrier. 

Emil turned from the doorway to the room that had the window.

The troll loomed like a shadow in the half light further down. Its empty eyes somehow bored into Emil, like it was staring straight into his soul to see the fear still coiling in his chest. 

“sÅ SulTen,” it hissed. The garbled speech chilled Emil to the marrow, but he didn’t look away. He had to make sure This One hit.

Emil pulled one of the few pieces of heavier ordinance he carried with him. The grenade was a solid weight in his hand. About 7 inches of solid black metal that was all but guaranteed to finish off this troll Once and for All. 

The troll shifted, as if sensing Emil’s intentions. Emil tried to steel himself, even if he was still absolutely terrified. 

He put his other hand over the top of the grenade. 

The troll hissed and spat again.

Emil grabbed the trigger, ready to rip it free.

The troll shuffled forward, snarling and gurgling. Emil had to force himself to stand his ground. The closer it was, the easier the hit. After a little while, the troll stopped again. It regarded Emil, with its empty eyes and dripping maw.

Then it charged.

All the cleanser training Emil had ever had kicked in as he ripped the trigger free. He raised the armed grenade high as the troll closed in. He stared straight into its mouth, filled with all those jagged teeth. With a yell that was probably more fear than anger, Emil threw for everything he was worth. 

The grenade sailed through the air, but Emil didn’t wait to see where it landed. Instead, he leaped into the room with the window. He covered his head and huddled on the ground, waiting. 

 

The explosion shook the entire building like an earthquake.

 

Dust and bits of ceiling rained down, leaving every covered in a layer of powder. Emil had to shake it off when he stood up. There was absolute silence now, without even a hint of noise from the troll. Emil still hobbled over to the hallway just to check and make sure. 

The was a not unimpressive crater where the grenade had detonated. The walls around it were gone, as was all the ceiling above it. There was no sign of the troll, but Emil hoped that was simply because it had been completely destroyed. There was, however, lots of smoke, and even some flames liking at the old wood. It was time to leave before that fire spread. 

Emi; started towards the window. He made it a few steps before something caught his attention. Emil paused, and strained to listen.

Something was making crack crack crack noises.

Emil felt a nauseating rush of fear that the troll had escaped even the grenade. However, the more he listened, the more he realized the sound was coming…

From Everywhere. 

All around him, the structure cracked and creaked ominously. Emil’s mouth went dry as he put together what it meant. The blast must have shaken the building. It had been standing neglected for 90 years, not to mention who knows how long before that. The explosions had been just the nudge needed to send the whole house of cards toppling down. 

Emil glanced at the window. It was the only way out of the deathtrap he had made for himself. He took a step towards it. And another. And another.

The entire building shuddered. Emil froze, listening as he heard the roar of breaking wood, cracking stone, and the beginnings of the collapse.

He searched the room, desperate for something, anything that could be shelter. But any furniture that was in there had turned to mush a long time ago. 

Emil started a mad dash for the window. 

A few paces in, a chunk ceiling hit him squarely in the back. Emil fell to the floor with an oomph as all the air was forced from his lungs. More pieces came down with it as cracks spider-webbed their way across the plaster above. Almost without thinking, Emil covered his head with his arms. 

 

It was the last thing he could do before the whole building came down around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A condition wherein a sufferer develops the insatiable desire to eat human flesh despite readily available alternative sources of food"
> 
>  
> 
> this fic calls for an Extreme Troll for its antagonist. Therefor, I'd like all of you to meet what I have affectionately christened 'Wendigo Troll' for its resemblance to the creepy creatures, especially as portrayed in Until Dawn.   
> This is fan fiction, my troll can be as still humanoid as I want, and I want Very
> 
> Writing action is hard so I apologize if I'm not the greatest at it TwT
> 
> Also, I was hoping to have a pic of wendigo troll to link, but me fricking tablet is out of action for the week...


	4. Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shock  
> shock  
> noun

Emil had no idea how long he must’ve been out. It was clear he had blacked out at some point, since the building that he used to be in was now on top of him. The rubble above his head blocked the sun from view, and it felt like his skull was filled with cotton that fogged his mind.

There was a thick dust everywhere- on the ground, on emil, in the air. Every little movement Emil made sent more of it flying. It stung his eyes and made him cough violently as he tried to pull himself free.

A slab of ceiling cracked and crumbled as Emil shoved it away. Another chunk, the one that must have knocked Emil to his feet, almost pinned him down. He was just barely able to get out from under it with a grunt of effort. 

Emil was able to haul himself upright by supporting himself on some of the larger wooden beams. Through the cloud of dust still hung in the air, Emil was able to make out the remnants of walls, ceiling, floors, wood, brick, and even the roof lying in ruined heaps all around him. He stood there in the middle of it all, stunned and dazed and barely able to recall just how he got there.

The building wasn’t the only thing battered and broken. It felt like every inch of Emil’s back and arms were sore with with fresh bruises. He was riddled with cuts where bits of wood had gone straight through his jacket and into his skin. A particularly deep wound on the back of his right shoulder made every movement of his arm sheer agony. 

Something red dripped into Emil’s eye. He blinked furiously as the warm stuff blinded him. He raised a hand to his face, not even noticing that it was shakingly slightly, and wiped whatever it was away. When he looked down at his glove, it was smeared with blood. After a moment of staring at it, Emil poked around at his face. The was an impressive gash above his left brow that was bleeding profusely. His lower right cheek was also warm and sore and would probably turn into a massive bruise later. There was another nick a little higher up just below his eye, and a split lip and several more little scrapes rounded out the damage to his face. Any other time and Emil would have had a heart attack at what he must have looked like, but he couldn’t even feel the pain yet.

Something in the distance cracked and crumbled. Emil looked up and squinted through the dust. The vague shadow of what was left of the building loomed through the haze. Emil just watched it, dumbly. 

The outline of ruined structure let out another long creak, and some more pieces fell off an upper floor to join the debris field. Emil lifted a hand to shield his face from the new cloud of dust that came rushing from the impact.

More ominous sounds echoed around him, and it finally occurred to Emil that he might want to get out of there. As he was debating it, another chunk of ancient building hit the ground nearby. That decided it for him.

Slowly, gingerly, Emil picked his way out of the ruin. The rubble shifted and broke under every step he took. A few timbers gave way when he tried to support himself. He kept on stumbling as he pushed forward, every trip and fall adding another scrape and bruise and scratch to Emil’s list of injuries. 

It seemed like an eternity of scrabbling and the constant echo of collapse behind him passed before Emil made it to the edge of the rubble. His injuries almost screamed with pain as he tried to get over what remained of the outer wall. With a small grunt of exertion, Emil was able to pull himself free of the collapse. 

The empty courtyard beyond was choked with the smaller bits of building that had been launched from the collapse and dirtied snow. The cloud of dust still hung like fog in the air, making Emil cough and hack and squeeze his eyes shut. He wandered forward, still dazed and unable to think clearly. The snow crunched beneath his unsteady feet as he wavered from side to side.

A loud rumble sounded out, and the ground shook a little. Emil came stopped, and after a moment’s confusion turned to look at what was left of the old building. 

Another section had fallen to the ground. A fresh cloud of dust was rising around what was still standing, shrouding it until there was barely a shadowy outline visible through the haze. Emil stood there and watched it rise without fully registering that the fallen section had hit where he was lying a minute earlier. A vague thought in the back of his head pointed out that it was good he had gotten away, but it didn’t reach the with the rest of his dazed mind. 

He didn’t move for a long moment. Emil was all but transfixed on the distant outline of the building he had just brought down on top of himself. The world stood completely still and perfectly silent as he stared. Nothing but snow and dust. 

A sound rang out, piercing through the cottony haze filling Emil’s brain.

 

“EMIL!”

 

It was his name. Someone was shouting his name. Emil tilted his head up, trying to listen for the sound again. 

 

“EEE-MIIIL!” The voice shouted again. He could hear it was obviously hoarse and cracking, even from that distance. Like someone had been screaming their lungs out for a long, long time. 

Realization dawned on him like sun through a fog. 

It was Sigrun. That was his captain’s voice.

“Hello?” he tried to call back. His voice was weak and scratchy from the dust. He tried again, putting a little more strength into his voice to get it across the distance.

 

There was a long, drawn out silence. 

 

“EMIL?” Sigrun called back, sounding more than a little surprised  
.  
“Hello!” Emil called back, starting to find his voice again. There was another silence, and Emil wondered if Sigrun had heard him.

“EMIL, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Sigrun eventually replied. Emil paused at the question. He had yet to think about it, but it occurred to him that he really wasn’t Alright. The blood caking the left side of his face was growing tacky and cold, but the gash on his forehead still throbbed. And that was just the beginning of a long list of injuries. But he was awake and on his feet...

“I’m... Okay!” He called back. He’d be able to get to the cat tank at least. Or that’s what he hoped.

Sigrun took a while to respond again. Emil waited, not really able to care about how long he waited

“EMIL! YOU STILL THERE!” She called again. Her voice was sounding even more strained.

“Yes!?” Emil replied. 

“LISTEN!” Sigrun shouted. “LISTEN TO ME! YOU CAN’T GET THROUGH HERE!” 

Emil furrowed his brows. He couldn’t figure out what Sigrun was talking about. Get through where?

“THE WHOLE PLACE IS GOING TO FALL DOWN! THE EXPLOSION SHOOK THE OTHER BUILDINGS AND THEY MIGHT COME DOWN TOO! YOU NEED TO GO AROUND! YOU HEAR ME!? GO AROUND!”

It took a moment for Sigrun’s words to soak in. Emil blinked a few times until he more or less got it. A cold feeling spread through his limbs and filled his gut at the realization. This city was a maze of ruins and dead ends. Lalli might have been able to make his way around, but he was a trained scout. And Emil was, well, not. Not to mention the cold. It hadn’t slowed down the monster now buried in the rubble, but it was definitely a danger for Emil. Even now he could feel it seeping in through the tears in his coat.

He also had no idea where to go around too. Emil only saw the outside of the tank when it was time to go in and get books. It just wasn’t safe for someone untrained in moving around the silent world. Like Emil.

Sigrun must’ve taken Emil’s silence as a need for clarification, because she added:

“GO TO THE PARK! THE PARK WE STAYED IN A COUPLE DAYS AGO!” She shouted. Emil blinked again, then nodded. He remembered the park, with all the trees and a small frozen stream. It was eerie at night, when all the shadows of the bare trees looked like an army of trolls ready to attack. It was better in the daylight, though. In fact, it was almost beautiful.

More importantly, he had some idea how to get there. It was a straight shot to the north.

“GOT IT!” Emil called back. The effort made his head hurt more but it did the trick. After a pause, Sigrun yelled one final message. 

“BE CAREFUL!”

Emil almost didn’t catch it as he had already turned away from the crumbling rubble. He paused at the words, lingering in the courtyard. 

A shuddering roar echoed from behind him as the last of the building came down. The woosh of dust blew past him and encouraged Emil on his way. He started to trudge further into the snow.

Emil shivered as a gust of wind managed to find every open spot on his coat and wormed its way down to his bare skin and his fresh cuts. He pulled it tight and tried his best to ignore it. The sun was also slowly but surely slipping towards the western horizon. Emil was too dazed to pay it much head, but he couldn’t ignore the ominous feeling creeping along his spine. 

The rubble shifted one last time as Emil reached the far end of the courtyard. Emil glanced over his shoulder, but wasn’t able to see much of anything through the dust cloud still hanging low in the air. He paused for a second before finally setting off into the city. He needed to get moving. It was going to be a long evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. A sudden upsetting or surprising event or experience  
> 2\. A violent shaking caused by an impact, tremor, or explosion 
> 
>  
> 
> I LIVE  
> Finally broke this hiatus  
> Not sure if I'll fall into one again but for now have Something  
> petition to make "Sorry Emil" an official a03 ssss tag cause man this fandom loves to beat the crap out of our favorite swede. Me included.


	5. Fight or Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight-or-Flight Response  
> Medical Term

The empty ruins of Copenhagen were eerie even when the safety of the tank was close at hand.  
Now, adrift alone and still disoriented from being caught under the collapse of an entire old building, Emil found it downright Ominous.

He knew the basic direction to take to the rendezvous point Sigrun had told him to head for. But as Emil soon discovered, getting there would be much easier said than done. 

The ruins were a labyrinth of collapsed rubble and blocked streets and dark shadows that made Emil’s skin crawl as he slinked past. After running into that very much awake troll, he didn’t put much faith in the cold keeping whatever could be lurking at bay. 

And to top it all off was the sun, slinking ever so much closer to the horizon with each passing minute. Emil felt his panic mount higher and higher every time he glanced up. He didn’t want to so much as consider being lost in the old city after dark. 

Emil stuck to the open spaces, in the middle of the snow and wind and most importantly the sunlight. He did his best to give any empty buildings or dark places a Wide berth. The image of the hulking, talking troll was still seared into his mind and every shadow felt like it was staring back at him with decayed and empty eye sockets. That, and the sun provided some weak semblance of warmth as all the holes in his jacket let the cold worm its way to his skin.

At the very least the cold was helping clear his head, and as it did, Emil started to realize what a state he was in. His clothes and skin were torn, and he was covered in dried blood and dust and rancid troll gore all along his back. He didn’t even want to think about what kind of filth had gotten into his wounds. Just the idea made him nauseous. 

As Emil was trying to scramble over a heaping pile of brick and rotted timber that had once been a house, the full magnitude of the Disaster of a situation he was in finally hit him. 

He had picked his way over the outlying rubble with ease, but the moment he hit the main mound he ran into a serious problem. The deep gouge on his back made using his right arm effectively impossible. The moment he tried to reach it up or put any pressure on it, the wound near his shoulder blade would shriek in agony and leak a fresh trickle of blood. 

 

With a cry of pain, Emil felt his arm buckle, and he slid back down another few feet of brick. It was probably the third time he had tried to make for the top of the mound. He curled into himself for a moment, cradling his arm and hissing his breath through gritted teeth. It felt like forever passed before the throbbing in his back finally subsided again. Emil didn’t move for a second as he tried to figure out a new plan of action. Obviously the “hard scrabble up the slope” method wasn’t working out. Judging by the still lingering ache near his shoulder blade, it was just going to make things worse.

Resigned, Emil shifted around so he was laying against the remnants of the house. It had fallen over many years ago, leaving an empty gap in the row where it had once stood. Emil eyed the space warily, looking into the shadows left by the late afternoon sun. Or, more accurately, Evening sun.

Emil glanced at the sky, and he felt his heart leap a little when he realized how precariously low it had gotten. The days may have been longer down in the Silent World, but not by much. Emil would be lucky to have more than a couple hours before full darkness. At the rate he was going- which at that moment was Nowhere and Fast- there would be no way he could reach the rendezvous before nightfall.

Emil felt his left eye twitch, then he swallowed, hard. He only barely quashed his rising panic at the thought of spending the night in the decrepit city. Freaking out wouldn’t get him to safety any faster.

Emil settled down against the rubble and closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths to calm his nerves, then went through the survival training he had learned in the cleansers corps. He laid there for a long moment, just collecting his thoughts, cradling his injured arm, and trying to make a plan. He still had a couple of explosives, a knife…

The gun that he’d been carrying was probably buried under the rubble Emil had crawled out of. Emil cringed, feeling the empty spot against his back it should have been. He had no idea if it could have still worked after having a building dropped on it, but in his daze he hadn’t bothered to bring it out with him. 

So that meant Emil was now woefully under armed in the middle of a rash ravaged city.  
He sighed, feeling the first hints of despair begin to mix in with his mounting anxiety.

 

Something in the distance shifted.

Emil snapped his eyes open. He tensed up, going on high alert as he searched the nearby area for danger. 

After a moment where nothing else moved, Emil let out a shaky breath and tried to steady his nerves. Panicking was the Worst thing he could do now. Rule one of a survival situation was to keep your wits about you. 

Slowly, gingerly, Emil slid back off the pile of brick. He held his arm close to his chest as he stood back to survey the obstacle. The rubble covered the entire street, all the way to the buildings on the other side. The only place it wasn’t a complete barricade was near the empty space the building once stood in. The empty gap in the row of houses was so deep in shadow it looked pitch black in places. Just looking at it gave Emil the chills as he imagined all sorts of beasts and grosslings in the shapes of the ruins. Then he glanced back at the insurmountable pile of rubble, and sighed. He didn’t have much of a choice. 

Slowly, Emil picked his way around the edge of the pile and towards the empty shadows. He inched closer and closer, eyeing every little shape warily in case it proved to be a threat. Nothing budged as he reached the end of the main debris field. 

Emil slipped into the shadows with a shiver. He pulled his torn coat tighter, and started to climb over the brick and desiccated wood that still partially filled the gap. Thankfully it wasn’t nearly as high as the rubble in the street. Emil hurried as quickly as he could, eager to get back into the fading sunlight. 

He was halfway there when a sound from inside one of the neighboring houses made him stop. Emil froze, not even daring to breath as he strained his ears, listening for any hint that the noise could mean danger. The sound seemed to have come from the building behind him, so he slowly looked over his shoulder. There didn’t seem to be any sight of a rash monster, but the fact he couldn’t See anything didn’t do much to reassure him.

After a minute of waiting with bated breath, Emil started to turn back to keep heading towards the road.

 

Another sound, louder and definitely the unmistakable noise of wood breaking under a heavy strain. Emil jumped and whirled back around. This time the sound had come from across the street. He scanned the buildings over there, which appeared to be a bunch of old storefronts with long empty windows topped by empty apartments. At first there seemed to be no sign of danger. 

Another crack. Something moved in an upper window. 

Emil felt his heart start to race. He stared at the window, trying to catch another glimpse of the dark shape. 

The hairs of on the back of Emil’s neck began to prickle as he felt eyes watch him from some unseen vantage point. Instinctively, he glanced around to try and find who or what was watching him. His eyes shifted over the snow covered road, marred only by his own deep footprints. 

And a new gore stained track streaking across his trail that hadn’t been there not even a minute before. 

 

Emil glanced back up at the old apartments. He couldn’t tell if he was actually seeing a rotted hulking figure peering back at him or if his imagination was starting to run rampant. 

Cold fear and white hot adrenaline began to run through Emil’s veins. After the disaster with the massive troll not an hour earlier, he did Not feel like crossing paths with another abomination. 

Without another backwards glance, Emil turned heel and Ran. 

 

It was slow going across the rubble, but within only a few seconds of careful scrambling he was home free and back on the empty road.

Emil ran for all he was worth through the snow. He dodged around the skeletons of old vehicles and rubble. His legs churned through the drifts, and he leaped over anything he didn’t have the chance or room to maneuver past.

More fallen over buildings threatened to block his flight, but Emil just barreled through without regard to his safety or the pain in his back and shoulder as he pushed rotten timbers out of his way. He didn’t even think about what kind of rash creatures could be lurking there. Only terror and the need to get as far away as possible, as fast as possible, filled his mind. 

 

After several blocks of this panic stricken running, Emil finally slowed to a steady jog. His breath came in short huffing gasps that stung his lungs with cold air. Sticky warm blood flowed anew along his back, but Emil did his best to ignore it. He had to keep moving, had to keep moving, had to Keep Moving.

After another block of jogging, Emil was finally completely spent. He came to a stop to lean against the skeleton of an old brick building. He panted, head down and left hand reaching around to clutch the wound that was once again staining his white coat crimson red. 

He had ducked into a narrow alley way, lined on both sides by only partially standing ruins that had covered and somewhat filled the space with rubble. It was completely shaded from the fading sun, but Emil didn’t care. He’d be vulnerable in the open. All he wanted to do now was hunker down and hide. 

Emil huddled down against the brick to wait for the pain in his back to subside. He started to try and regain his bearings. The sun was too low in the horizon to provide a truly accurate idea of which way was north, but judging by the angle of the few rays peeking into the alley he’d managed to keep a decently faithful course. Emil looked at them again, and felt his last hopes plummet. He wouldn't have even a few minutes until full darkness.

He would be spending a long night away from the tank, stranded in the middle of rash ravaged Copenhagen. 

 

Emil sighed, and turned to sit against the cold crumbling brick. He stared at the alley, taking in every shadow and bit of snow. It was both eerie and kind of beautiful in the twilit half-light. No signs of rash seemed to have made it there- that, or it had all been killed off by the bitter cold. It was all perfectly still and serene.

Emil let his eyes slide close as he let that little slice of peace calm sink in and calm his thundering heart. He steadied his breathing and focused on regaining his head. Panicking would be his death sentence. While the adrenaline was good for a hard dash from rash monsters, it wouldn’t help him make a plan for how to make it through the night. 

He tried to go through a checklist in his head of what he’d need to do to stay alive. First order of business was to stay warm. Second, find shelter and stay safe. 

Emil shivered as the warmth of exertion faded away and the cold slipped its way into the holes in his coat. He wasn’t doing all that well on that first part. At least shelter might already be solved. He looked back up at the remnants of the alley, seemingly so safe and so quiet. There were definitely worse places to hunker down and wait out the long winter darkness. Definitely better places, sure, but also definitely, definitely worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A physiological response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat"
> 
> I LIVE  
> AGAIN  
> I think at this point i need to suck it up and accept this fic will update Slooowly. But I promise, it will, eventually, get done. Mostly because I won't let myself split my attention to any other projects until it is finished.
> 
> Edit: Broke 10k words! Woooooo!!


	6. Go to Ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Go to Ground"
> 
> (fair warning: there be alcohol mentioned in this chapter, so if that's a topic that you'd rather avoid this is your heads up)

Emil stayed slumped against the old brick shell of a building for a long, empty few minutes. He stared into space, lost in his own thoughts and trying to ignore the gnawing cold. Outside his ruinous shelter, the still evening slowly passed him by and into a deep crimson winter twilight. 

As Emil thought and shivered, the perfect stillness of approaching night was shattered by a small shuffling at the entrance to the alley. 

Emil lept to his feet. His heart went off like a drum in his chest as adrenaline surged right back through him yet again. He stared at the opening to the alley, now barely more than a bloody red gap in the darkness. Nothing moved for a second. 

He almost jumped again when a great rat went running across the snow. It didn’t even stop to look at him as it scrambled into the rubble and out of sight. Emil stared at the spot where it disappeared, heart thudding like a hammer. Slowly, he forced himself to straighten up and let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

Emil shuffled backwards to the wall and slid down the crumbling brick. He chided himself under his breath for getting so worked up over a silly little rat. He let out another, deep breath as he ran a gloved hand through his hair- only to cringe as it caught on knot after knot and clots of who-knows-what. He yanked it back out with a grimace and promised to indulge in a good long brushing when he got back to the tank.

The tank...

Emil felt a pang as he watched the light outside his hiding place fade away. His shoulders slumped as he remembered again that he’d have to spend the night here, away from the warmth and safety and camaraderie of the tank. He wondered what the rest of the crew was thinking right now. It occurred to him that Lalli should be out looking for him right about now. Maybe he was even near bye. 

The idea helped perked Emil’s spirits a bit. 

After shaking away the troubled thoughts tumbling about in his head, Emil stood again. He brushed the snow and dust from his trousers, and took a new stock of his surroundings. His first task, if he were to spend the night here, would be to find any timber not soaked or rotted into nothing for a fire- not even the most talented cleanser could burn mush. 

A cursory search found there was nothing to be found in the alley proper, so Emil turned his attention to the buildings. The insides were mostly caved in, so he could only get at most a meter in before hitting an impenetrable wall of debris. He worked his way down the alley, picking up anything dry enough to work as kindling or tinder. He’d had a decent armload accumulated before long, and even a couple larger pieces that he’d dragged into the street to break up later. 

Emil was piling his finds on the sidewalk, sorting them out by size and trying to figure out just How we was going to light all this on fire when something else started shuffling at the alley entrance. He snapped his head up. He was still alert, but after the false alarm earlier he wasn’t about to go into full fight or flight mode over just some noise. He could only take so much panic in one evening. 

He watched, waiting for maybe the rat from earlier or some other animal to appear. Instead, however, the shuffling seemed to retreat a ways. Then it stop. Emil stared at the alley opening for a moment longer, and then looked back down to his sticks.

He kept listening, just in case, but the shuffling didn’t return. 

Emil broke down some of the smaller bits of kindling, hoping to get something akin to tinder. He didn’t find much else in the old buildings that fit the bill, so he felt resigned to making it himself and hoping it worked.

He was sitting cross legged, doggedly tearing at the little pieces of wood in the deep shadow of the alley. He could barely see a couple meters in front of him in what little light filtered from outside. The sun had set in full, but the night outside the alley was eerily bright from the snow and the light of a near full moon. It was also frigid, and Emil could barely keep a grip on the twigs through his shivering. He needed this fire ASAP. 

He was just breaking what was probably a semi rotted ceiling joist into little chunks when the shuffling started up again. 

Emil popped his head up once again, startled at the sudden interruption to his concentration. He looked around, not sure where the sound came from. 

As he stared at the far end of the alley, opposite the one he came in, when a shadow flitted over the opening. 

Emil turned sharply, staring into the milky moonlight. 

The shuffling was still there, like some creature was rooting about the rubble just out of Emil’s sight. Emil stood as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms prickle. His intuition tells him that was no mere fat rat.

Emil could see a trail cutting across the alley’s opening, a dark line etched into the snow. An uneasy feeling of familiarity settled over him, and he tensed. 

He stepped forward, intending to get a closer look at the trail in the snow. His foot, however, landed on a piece of kindling. It -CRACKS- in the still night air. Emil froze. The shuffling stopped. A cold sweat broke out at his brow as he Waited for something, he doesn’t know what, to happen. 

The shuffling started back up, and it was definitely coming Towards the alley now. Emil watched as a shadow crept across the opening to the collapsed alley. A massive figure blocked out the moonlight as Something peeked in.

Emil’s breath hissed as he inhaled sharply. The sickly, heady stench of diseased rot mixed in with a new layer of charred flesh hit him at the same moment as horrific recognition. 

The hunch, the long deformed arms, the extra limbs hanging off an emaciated overgrown body. The silhouette turned to look at him, and Emil could picture the empty eyes and mangled jaws and teeth- so, so many teeth.

 

The troll from the disastrous book mission was Back. 

 

They stared at eachother, Emil frozen in place yet again. His mind raced, trying to comprehend what he was seeing, and How he was seeing it. 

It was impossible. He had dropped a Building on that troll- and himself in the process. He had literally thrown almost everything he had at the monster, but here it was. 

Alive. 

Still Hunting him. 

There was a horrific rasping sound, then the troll lurched forward. Emil’s heart lept, and he started to stumble backwards. Firewood cracked and crunched beneath his feet. He kept his eyes on the troll as he backtracked, unable to look away.

One of the bigger pieces of wood he’d salvaged sprung up behind him. Emil’s foot caught it dead on. He pitched backwards with a cry as his view went from the troll to the top of the alley. A second later he hit the ruined pavement with a tremendous Thud. 

Emil’s vision fuzzed as his head swam from the hit. He lay there, stunned for a precious second. 

Garbled hissing snapped him out of it. Emil looked up, and he could just make out the dark back of the troll as it rushed forward.

“SulTeN! jeG er suLTeN!” it screeched in its horrific half-voice. 

Emil screamed as he scrambled to his feet. He practically crawled on all fours for a bit, too frightened to get to his feet. 

A wet crash behind him as the troll pounced on where he’d been not a second earlier got him upright and running. 

The troll hissed in apparent frustration behind him as Emil ran. 

He bolted for the other end of the alley. It wasn’t as big an opening here, but Emil was able to duck through and into the open air of another street. He skidded on the snow, almost losing his balance. He was mercifully able to right himself and keep running as he heard the troll collide with the rubble. Emil’s legs churned with fear as he bolted for dear life.

His heart was thudding in his ears so hard that he couldn’t hear the troll behind him. That didn’t stop him from imagining it was right on his tail and gaining on him.

Emil veered to the right, ducking behind the ancient husk of a van. He crouched low behind remnants of vehicles and rubble in hopes of losing the monster on his tail. 

When the sound of twisting rusted metal sounded out behind him, Emil lept through the empty window of some long gutted storefront. 

He gasped sharply as the shock of impact inside sent a jolt right into the wound in his back. Emil crumpled, his breath coming out as a pained hiss through gritted teeth as he waited for the pain to subside enough to get up. Then another crunch of metal outside convinced him to get going irregardless. 

Emil scrambled past old displays and collapsed structure, through a gap in the wall, and into the next building over. He kept ducking and weaving through the buildings, one after another,, uncaring of any other rash creatures he might be waking up in the process. He just wanted to slow the Big One chasing him. If he could do that, he’d be safe, he reasoned. 

All too soon, as far as he was concerned, he ran out of buildings. He’d reached a corner, and there wasn’t any other gaps he could jump through to keep running. 

Thinking fast, Emil darted into a corner tucked between a caved in floor and the pre existing walls of the shop. He hunkered down, pushing himself deep into the rubble-like a child, trying to hide from the monsters hiding in his closet.  
He was breathing hard, and could feel his sweat dampening undershirt clinging to him. Emil started to shiver in violent earnest as the cold wicked right into his soaked clothes and his skin. He curled in on himself to try and keep the heat in as much as possible. He wasn’t very successful, but that didn’t mean he was going to stop.

It was a long, tense minute as Emil waited to hear the horrific garbled rasp of the troll in the room with him. He could hear distant sounds of scratching and cracking in the shops he’d just bolted through, but he honestly couldn’t tell if it was The troll or smaller grosslings.

Emil reached for the knife he carried in his belt. It took him a few tries to grasp the handle and pull it free. His fingers had gone tingly from the cold. Between that and his uncontrollable shaking, Emil could barely keep a grip on the blade. 

He cursed colorfully and violently under his breath. Then a particularly loud Crash in the distance shut him up.

If he couldn’t use his hands, Emil was a dead man. Desperate, he flexed his fingers, trying to urge life back into them. The tingling seemed to subside for a second, only to come back just as bad, if not even worse, as before. 

Emil cursed again, and slumped in his hiding spot. 

He glanced over the ancient store, only half noticing the contents. It not like there was much here that could act as a weapon. He sighed in defeat. Then he sat up. 

His gaze had landed on the shelves just to the left on him. They were filled with bottles- most of them with their contents intact. Emil found himself reading some labels, or, whatever labels were still legible. 

One word managed to jump out from a bottle of clear liquid, one that he still recognized: “vodka”

Emil had stumbled upon a treasure trove of pre-war booze.

A new plan appeared in Emil’s mind, and after barely weighing the risks and benefits Emil decided: it’s do or die.  
And besides, if he was going to die tonight, what better state of mind to go in?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phrase  
> "To enter or flee into the earth or a burrow"
> 
> HAH  
> I DID IT  
> I UPDATED  
> Man this fic only upates once in a blue moon. Truly sorry about that. But guess what! Schools over! I have free time!  
> And pressing projects that I can't finish until Hypothermia wraps up  
> and That dear readers means more updates, on a hopefully faster schedule!
> 
> also! Art! I finally got around to making some decent artwork for this fic, so enjoy a little snippet from this chapter:  
> https://gyazo.com/c49499e061e4c4a48f8e96ccdb587d78


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